The Silk Road.

The Silk Road.

The Silk Road was a merchants’ heaven and a consumers’ dream. A place where cultural diffusion was a natural occurrence and different rich cultures could both spread and blend with freedom and prosperity. Due to the combination of people, products, ideas, and modes of transit, the first global marketplace was able to widely spread different cultural ideas, beliefs, and lifestyles across Europe and Asia. Therefore, it could not only be called a transportation route, it always could be called a social system.
Traders on the Silk Road originated from all over the world, and as they traveled the long journey, they carried their own cultural lifestyles with them. These cultural lifestyles would be taught to the traders and people they met along their journeys, and soon the spreading of cultural lifestyles would commence. The traders were like missionaries of their own personal cultures, and they would travel the Silk Road passing along their lifestyles. Along with spreading their cultures, they would adopt other beliefs, completing the cycle. This vast spreading of cultures was a major influence on the Silk Road and is one of the main reasons religion was able to spread from nation to nation.
The Islamic religion was one of the quickest spreading religions on the Silk Road, partly due to its central location in Mecca. Mecca was one of the most traveled to trading spots on the Silk Road. With thousands of people traveling in and out through Mecca, the Islamic beliefs spread extremely fast. As the growing religion continued to grow, countries began to model their governments around the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad. Another religion that grew out of the Silk Road was Buddhism. Originating in India, Siddhartha’s teachings were beginning to rival Hinduism and Taoism as a dominant religion. Buddhism was an easy religion for many to convert to, and due to this, many traders passing through would convert themselves and begin to live their lives in a Buddhist...